Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Gambling

lord chadlington: To ask Her Majesty's Government on what evidence they concluded problem gambling rates have remained relatively stable during a period of considerable growth in advertising volumes, as stated in the Government response to the consultation on proposals for changes to Gaming Machines and Social Responsibility Measures,published in May.

lord ashton of hyde: The most recent large-scale report was published by the Gambling Commission in 2017, using data from Health Survey for England and Scotland 2015 and Problem Gambling Survey Wales 2015. This estimated the number of adult problem gamblers in Great Britain as approximately 430,000, 0.8% of the population. The number of gambling adverts on TV rose from 2007, and new types of advertising emerged such as online and on social media. There have been three other published large-scale assessments of rates of problem gambling since then: the British Gambling Prevalence Survey (BGPS) 2007, BGPS 2010 and the Health Survey for England and Scotland 2012. Over the course of these surveys there have been slight adjustments to the approach, questions and methodology, and across this period, observed rates of problem gambling have fluctuated slightly but have remained below 1%. Any observed changes are not statistically significant. The response to the Review of Gaming Machines and Social Responsibility set out a package of initiatives to strengthen protections around gambling advertising. It also recognised that there were gaps in the evidence available, and proposed measures to fill these, including significant research commissioned by GambleAware into the impact of gambling advertising on children, young people and those vulnerable to harm. This is due to be completed next year.

Gambling

lord chadlington: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for gambling operators being required to disclose the amount they donate to GambleAware; and how many operators meetthe voluntary target of 0.1per cent of annual Gross Gambling Yield.

lord ashton of hyde: We considered research, education and treatment as part of our Review of Gaming Machines and Social Responsibility. The response was published on 17 May. The review looked at protections across the gambling industry and support for those who experience harm, including the arrangements for funding. The Gambling Commission requires all operators licensed under the Gambling Act 2005 to make a contribution towards the research, prevention and treatment of gambling-related harm. It does not specify how much this should be, nor which organisations should be supported, but most operators fulfil this obligation by making a contribution to GambleAware, which currently asks operators to donate 0.1% of their Gross Gambling Yield (GGY). GambleAware received £9.4m in the year 2017/18. Industry also made donations to other bodies supporting research, education and treatment, bringing collective contributions to above 0.1% of its GGY. The government does not hold information on how much each operator donates. The Gambling Commission has committed to do more to enhance the visibility and transparency of details of industry contributions, either by operator or sector. In addition, GambleAware has announced that it plans to publish details of operator contributions on its website on a quarterly basis, and will ask operators to voluntarily self-certify whether these donations amount to at least 0.1% of GGY.

Music

lord watts: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the opportunities that are presented by decentralisation across England to develop music industries.

lord ashton of hyde: The recently published Creative Industries Sector Deal commits to supporting clusters of world class businesses to grow and thrive across the country. This includes £20m over the next two years to roll out a Cultural Development Fund enabling local partnerships to bid for investments in culture and creative industries, including music, with industry contributing funding, networks and leadership.

Advertising Standards Authority

baroness deech: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply byBaroness Chisholm of Owlpen on 22 March (HL Deb, col 413), what assessment they have made of the independence of the Advertising Standards Authority in the light of its categorisation as a Complaints Handler Member of the Ombudsman Association rather than an Ombudsmen Member.

lord ashton of hyde: Broadcast and non-broadcast advertising are governed by a system of co-regulation and self-regulation respectively, overseen by the Advertising Standards Authority. It is correct that the ASA is not technically an ombudsman and is instead categorised as a complaint handler member of the Ombudsman Association - a position which applies to a number of other regulatory bodies, for example the Information Commissioner’s Office and the Financial Conduct Authority. This status obliges the ASA to operate in accordance with the Ombudsman Association’s Principle of Good Complaint Handling and to have regard to its Principles of Good Governance. These principles set standards of independence, openness and transparency, accountability, integrity, clarity of purpose, effectiveness, accessibility, flexibility, proportionality, efficiency and quality of outcomes. Complaint handler member status does not imply any inadequacy in governance, complaints handling or other standards.

Ministry of Justice

Marriage: Humanism

lord judd: To ask Her Majesty's Government, what assessment they have madeof theAll-Party Parliamentary Humanist Group's reportAny Lawful Impediment?publishedon 24 May; and what steps they are taking to ensurethe legal recognition of humanist marriage in England and Wales.

lord keen of elie: The Government welcomes the engagement of the All-Party Parliamentary Humanist group and we are giving careful consideration to the findings of the group’s inquiry.

Marriage: Humanism

baroness meacher: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to using order-making powers to give legal recognition to marriages officiated by Humanists UK, irrespective of any wider plans for wholesale marriage reform.

lord keen of elie: Amending the existing law on marriage to make provision for legally valid humanist ceremonies may involve a range of issues that the Government is carefully considering.

Offenders

baroness stroud: To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of adult offenders did not reoffend within one year of (1) conviction, and (2) release from prison, in each year since 2014.

lord keen of elie: The percentage of adult offenders that did not reoffend within one year of conviction in each year since 2014:April 2013 - March 2014: 65.7%April 2014 - March 2015: 67.4%April 2015 - March 2016: 68.7% The percentage of adult offenders that did not reoffend within one year of release from prison in each year since 2014:April 2013 - March 2014: 50.4%April 2014 - March 2015: 51.7%April 2015 - March 2016: 52.2% We do not have figures beyond March 2016 as the data is not yet available. Reoffending is costing society approximately £15 billion a year. Effective rehabilitation needs prisoners to be willing to commit to change, take advice, learn new skills and take opportunities to work – both during their sentence and after. On 24 May 2018, we launched the Education and Employment Strategy that will support ex-offenders to engage in education and secure employment so that they are less likely to reoffend. In addition, the Cabinet Office is introducing a new Reducing Reoffending group that will work across government to tackle some of the main causes of reoffending, including employment, health and accommodation